


Grief Shared Is Halved

by Godoflaundrybaskets (digiella)



Series: Blind!Obi-Wan and Tahl!Lives [1]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, Tahl lives, bitersweet, blind obi-wan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 02:30:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10607445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digiella/pseuds/Godoflaundrybaskets
Summary: Tahl arrives on Naboo after the invasion and searches for Obi-Wan.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sanerontheinside](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanerontheinside/gifts).



Tahl looked around the corner searching for... Well, he'd outgrown his pet names. Knight Obi-Wan. Or as good as. 

The grief of the city filled the Force drowning out any sense she could have used to find her friend. She knew he shouldn't be alone. 

These last few years, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan hadn't been at the temple as much as she'd like but Obi-Wan had grown into his role well. He'd struggled for several years to regain the lightness in the spirit that'd seemed almost lost after he'd been blinded. Qui-Gon was always one to roam and when Obi-Wan had seemed unable to keep up... it had been rough on all of them.

Eventually, she stumbled upon him in one of the Queen's gardens. She paused on the walkway before entering the gate. He was cut off from the Force more than she'd ever seen. He didn't even look up as she approached. It was like a gaping hole where his presence should have been and her heart ached for him.

But where Obi-Wan was void wrapped so tightly in himself, Anakin was shinning in the Force bright enough that she was still surprised that it never entered the visible spectrum. He looked like just a simple child, a little underfed and scrappy, but a child nonetheless. He sat at a nearby bench fiddling with a mess of wires.

Underneath a tall tree, Obi-Wan sat not even noticing her footfalls. Anakin glanced up curiously but kept quiet. Gently, she laid a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. He flinched away and she let her hand fall back to her side, but at least he looked up at her. His eyes red rimmed and unfocused. 

"Obi-Wan," she said. She'd had a whole speech prepared but looking down at him, now, it escaped her. She wanted to comfort him but... how could she? She'd barely processed Qui-Gon's loss herself.

There was a tug at her robe and she looked down to see Anakin looking up with worried eyes. "Are you going to make him eat?" the boy asked. "Because he just ignores me or tells me to leave him alone. Well, he doesn't _say_ that but it's pretty obvious what he wants to say. And you probably don't really get to tell Masters what to do any more as a padawan than a--" 

Anakin cut himself off biting his lip and his eyes darted towards Obi-Wan. Tahl narrowed her eyes at that wondering what he was going to say and making a mental note to pursue that later. It sounded like someone was going to be picking Qui-Gon's defiance of the council. She reached down and ruffled Anakin's hair and smiled. "Let me see what I can do. You should probably pack up though."

Anakin grinned up at her, and darted away to grab the electronics he'd been tinkering with. 

She said, "Anakin seems like he has a good heart. He's worried about you." 

Obi-Wan took a deep breath in through his teeth. His head twitched towards the sounds of Anakin quickly packing things away. Eventually, he said, "I know." His voice was horse and even that brief statement seemed to drain him. 

"You can't live off just the Force," she said, the familiar scolding coming easily to her lips. She bit back the rest of the familiar lecture. Obi-Wan didn't need that right now despite it's truth.

His lips twitched into a tired smile.

Tahl sighed and folded the stab of grief a crane and let it sail into the Force. Anakin appeared at her side, electronics safely packed away into a small bag at his side. He grinned up at her, a small thing but it warmed her. "Shall we, Obi-Wan? I think the youngling here is looking a bit peckish. Anakin too."

Obi-Wan sighed and rose, painful bruises making themselves known as he tried to rise. She lent her arm to him and held onto his as he moved to pull away. "I'm an old woman now, Obi-Wan. I need someone to help me get to the dining hall."

Obi-Wan's lips twisted into that tired smile again but he didn't come back with the expected denial that she'd grown used to since her retirement from active duty.

"I'm not sure Padme has a dining hall," Anakin said. "She just has huge tables of food all the time and pitchers and pitchers of water _everywhere_."

"Feel up to leading us there?" she asked.

"Yup! I remember the way. Come on," Anakin said as he took the lead, the pouch bouncing off his side in his haste to get ahead. 

She smiled over at Obi-Wan letting her amusement bleed into the Force. She wished-- well. Wishes wouldn't do them much good. "It's okay to grieve," she said softly knowing he would hear. 

He shook his head, though she couldn't tell if it was in disagreement or just an unwillingness to listen. She squeezed his arm and let the matter drop for the moment. Light glinted off of Anakin's hair as he led them through the palace and she let herself relax into this moment with her family.


End file.
